


Spare Parts

by ElizeRW



Category: The Grand Tour (TV) RPF, Top Gear (UK) RPF
Genre: Cars, F/M, Love, Romance, Travel, University, Unrequited Love, Writing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:35:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23983897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElizeRW/pseuds/ElizeRW
Summary: As she defers from her Masters Degree, 26-year-old Mina begins her year-long internship writing for one of Britain's most successful TV shows: Top Gear. As time goes on, Mina comes to terms with the fact that what she sees onscreen is far from reality.
Relationships: James May/Original Character(s), Jeremy Clarkson/James May, Jeremy Clarkson/Original Female Character(s), Jeremy Clarkson/Richard Hammond, Richard Hammond/James May, Richard Hammond/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 7





	Spare Parts

**Author's Note:**

> IMPORTANT:  
> For the sake of the plot, the three presenters will be younger than they are now (Richard, early thirties, James, late thirties, and Jeremy, early forties). The timeline will not be accurate, but will fit within the story. Please read this with an open mind!

The September air was sharp and across London the sun began to rise, leaving a trail of blossoming orange on the horizon. Standing on what felt like the edge of the world, Mina darted her eyes towards one of London's many office blocks, hoping she had landed her feet at the right one. Glancing at her watch, her chest sank as she still had one minute before Mr Wilman expected her.  
And what a slow, painful minute it was.  
Having moved from the isolated landscape of the countryside, London proved to be as daunting and thrilling as she had hoped. The rush of taxis behind her, merged with the heavily tapping of feet against the pavement, allowed her to focus on her thoughts in a rhythmic fashion. She had made it this far; her childhood home had been abandoned, leaving her to build a new life into a one-bedroom apartment in Bayswater, edging on the outskirts of Paddington. It was far too late for any anxiety to pull her away from this job; after all, out of hundreds (if not thousands) of candidates, she had been chosen. For the first time in a memorable while, she felt selfishly special.  
Eventually, Mina's daydream ceased, as she felt the presence of someone else behind her, tapping the tip of their shoe against the pavement impatiently. She spun around at the sound, embarrassed, making direct eye contact with the tall gentleman looking down at her. He held his keys up at her with a smug smile.  
"Do you need to get in?"  
Mina didn't quite know what to say, and so, she nodded, handing the man her ID in the hope that he might know where she's supposed to go. To her annoyance, the man shook his head and pushed it back into her hand.  
"Don't worry, just follow me." he smiled, and pressing the buzzer at last, called down the speaker to Mr Wilman.  
"Morning Andy, it's Jeremy, and -" With a puzzled expression, he turned his head towards her, waiting to hear her response.  
"Mina." She smiled.  
"Mina." He repeated, and his gentle, yet puzzled, stare lingered on her features. Her look was different to that he had seen before; her hair was dark, and trailed down her shoulders towards her the creases of her elbows. Her eyes were a hazy blue, complimenting her rosy glow. Jeremy's trail of thought became misty with curiosity: why was a woman was standing hopelessly outside of the office? A faint memory of a new employee came to the from of his mind, but a girl had never been hired before - whether it be camera crew, PAs, and the rest - not during Andy's running of the show.  
Hearing the approving words of Andy - or as Mina knew him as Mr Wilman - Jeremy unlocked the door with his key, apologising for getting in Mina's way.  
The door eventually opened which cut the awkward tension like a knife, and Jeremy signalled for her to enter apologetically, "I'm sorry, I didn't realise we had a new member on board. I'm rather hoping that you're here to replace James." Mina laughed, but before she could reply, Jeremy extended his hand to her, "I'm Jeremy, by the way."  
She was rather startled by his introduction; of course she knew his name, and from what she'd seen and heard in the media, she thought his ego was far too big for a proper introduction. To her, he was the alpha of the show, as far as alphas go, anyway. Needless, she acted as though she had never heard of him before, which - although not very convincing - she managed to keep the conversation sharp and professional. She took his hand, "Mina Taylor. I'm here on the writing internship."  
"You can't be; you're too young, surely." He smirked as he successfully steered away from any sexist remarks whilst guiding her to the elevator. In his left hand he grappled with a stack of paperwork, leading her to believe this wasn't going to be a very busy, nor communicative, first day on the job.  
"I don't feel a day over twenty-six." She smiled, dreading the thought of being on the other side of twenty, and not having a plan for the future.  
"Mina," Jeremy laughed, "you're now working alongside a team of middle aged men - just men - who are all simmering angrily at the fact that life isn't slowing down for them. Perhaps you're the breath of fresh air we need this year." Pondering on his thoughts again, he asked, "also, that's a name you don't hear very often.. Mina.. as in Mina from Dracula?" Jeremy asked as the elevator took them up to the top floor. She simply hummed in agreement.  
"It was my mother's favourite book." There was a sense of sadness in her words, which she tried to disguise with a smile, but the pain in her eyes was harder to conceal. Confused, Jeremy started talking in response as they left the elevator, but Mina didn't grasp much of what he said, as before her laid the morning's city skyline. The mist brushed between the trees, and the pale blue that settled at the bottom of the sky created a gradient as it blended with the electric blue overhead.  
"I hate to pull you away from your daydream, Miss Taylor," Jeremy cleared his throat, "but I don't want you to be late on your first day."  
Pulling her bag back up onto her shoulder, Mina followed Jeremy into the office, as he loudly proclaimed to what appeared to be an empty office, "for the first time in Top Gear history, we have a team member smaller than Hammond! Even better, it's a woman!"  
Mina laughed, but couldn't help blushing. She had always been smaller than your average, but nonetheless adamant that her height could be used as her charm. Mina knew all she could do was brush off the gender remarks, as she was sure she wouldn't hear the end of it for a long time.  
"Hammond isn't here yet, you pill- a woman, you say?" A voice echoed from one of the desks, and peering over the computer, smiled rather awkwardly upon seeing a her in the office.  
"Mr James May," Clarkson said excitedly, showing Mina off next to him, "meet our newest member, Mina."  
"Oh, hello there, Mimi, are you-"  
"Mina, you deaf twat," Jeremy interrupted, "not Mimi." James look apologetic and even more flustered than he did before.  
"I'm sorry, Mina." He stood up from his desk with a sigh, and extended his hand to her as a greeting. She took it gracefully, and managed to break the awkward moment between the two  
"With age comes a lack of something. In my case hearing, and in Jeremy's case manners." He glared at his co-worker, and Mina soon understood that the relationship presented on television is almost identical to the one in real life.  
"It's okay. Mimi was my nickname at school, actually." She reassured James, "I'm very used to being called Mimi."  
"You definitely look like a Mimi." James said in his over-analytical tone. Jeremy soon joined in.  
"Looks like we've officially changed your name: Mimi it is!" Jeremy announced,  
Mina blushed, but was looking to change the conversation before they started questioning her; the nerves running through her body weren't going to allow her to answer in an articulate - or indeed humorous - way.  
"I hate to act like a lost puppy, but could either of you point to where I may find Mr Wilman?" she asked politely. James and Jeremy both raised their hands at a room to the end of the corridor, but James seemed entirely interested as to the reason why a young woman was now working for a group of middle-aged men. Still, his kind and rather delicate nature prevented him from saying anything, and so, Mina made her way to Mr Wilman's office.

"One more thing, Mimi," Jeremy called out, quite enjoying how her new name sounded, "Hammond will be quite bitter over the fact that he's no longer the small one."

Along the corridor, the walls were plastered with photos of old cars, new cars, and everything in between. One photo, however, caught Mina's eye. In a black and white frame were the three presenters, arms folded, and staring straight towards the camera. Their bond was unbreakable, and a part of Mina felt sick in getting to know a group of people who were so close to one another. This only added to her fear of not fitting in; with no other women working for the show, Mina's chances of fitting in were close to none. She disregarded these thoughts, however, knowing this was a workplace, and an important one. Tearing her gaze away from the picture, she knocked on Mr Wilman's office door, and heard a cheery "come in!" as a response. Opening the door, Mr Wilman sat on his computer, paper piled neatly around him.  
"Hi Mina, come take a seat and let's discuss everything."  
After a few moments of silence, and once Mina was settled, Mr Wilman's tone turned to a soft, almost paternal, tone.  
"I know these last months haven't been easy for you - you know - I've had to talk with your therapist for professional reasons and professional reasons only. I don't know much, so don't be worried, and I want you to know that whatever we can do to support you, we are here for you. The guys on this team are second to none, and your best interests are in our favour."  
Mina's face fell, and the memories of the past few months began to crawl back to her, leaving what felt like grit in her stomach. Saddened, she nodded, feeling sick.  
"Mina, I hate to start your first day off like this, I really do. But please, can I ask you a question?"  
Again, she nodded.  
"How long has it been since your parents passed away?"  
She paused her scrambling thoughts for a slight moment, looking at the calendar on the wall; since her parents' death, her attention to the world around her had decreased - each day was as bland and underwhelming as the next.  
"It's almost been five months, and please be assured that I'm getting better everyday. I'm in a new place, I'm now meeting new people. I have to stay positive."  
"You're brave, Mina, and we are very appreciative to have you on board, but there's just one more thing I'd like to ask you before I give you this week's script for editing."  
She gulped; the tension in the room built. She had no idea what Mr Wilman was going to say to her - or ask her - and she wanted to run out of the room before he opened his mouth.  
"Next Friday, we're going to go to Paris for filming over the weekend. We should be back no later than Monday evening, and I was wondering as a bit of a celebration on your arrival and to see how things work, you'd like to come with us?"  
"Mr Wilman, that is so kind of you, but I would hate to take up anymore space." She almost kicked herself for saying that; she wanted nothing more than to go and explore Paris, but had to reel in her desperation.   
"Please, call me Andy," he smiled, flicking through the unedited scripts to pass her, "and we'd love to have you, there's only nine of us going including James, Jeremy and Richard. Taking the number up to ten is hardly difficult. Here, take this and see what you can make of it." Handing her the script, she smiled gratefully, almost at a loss for words.  
"Are you sure? I mean, I would love to come if you'd be willing to take me."  
"No problem, now go do some work, it's already ten past nine!" Andy joked, waving goodbye to her as she left the office in a feverish ecstasy of excitement and disbelief.


End file.
